The day of the battle with Mr. Charon.

We were preparing for battle in front of the gates of Myalark.

Preparation doesn't mean doing anything drastic, it's about checking your own physical condition and the condition of the gauntlet, which is the key to your defense this time.

 

"I didn't expect you to prepare something like this......

"I've heard that the Norns have arranged it, and I'm surprised that they can make so much in such a short period of time."

 

Look at the shoes you are wearing and admire them.

The shoes I wear now are not the ones I wear all the time, but the ones that have non-slip soles on the soles of my feet.

These are the shoes that the Norns have prepared for us as we fight on icy ground.

Before I knew it, I looked up the size of our feet, and they were sized to match each foot.

 

"With this, you can fight Charon on a stable footing."

 

I was worried about fighting on the ice, but with these shoes, I should be fine.

...... The scaffolding problem has been solved, but we still have another problem.

 

"Leona, you haven't come yet......

 

Leona is the only one who has not yet been seen.

According to the maid, she said she would be a little late...... I'm afraid that maybe I did something to Leona yesterday because I said something forceful.

 

"Hey, you looked so bad before you fought, and it's not like you."

 

My expression darkened, and Nea on my shoulder said something like that.

 

"No, if Leona hadn't come—"

"No, I don't think Leona would be scared now when she was willing to give up her life to fight. I don't know why I'm late."

 

Certainly, Leona wouldn't throw it out.

...... Whatever choice she makes, she's here.

 

"You cared too much about her......

 

...... Prior to the fight with Charon, I may have become a little bearish.

Let's change the subject to distract the tension.

 

"Speaking of which, I was thinking about my gauntlet yesterday."

「...... Thoughts? That is...... How to inflict pain without hurting them?"

"That's interesting, can I practice it with you now?"

"You're kidding! So stop rattling the gauntlet in my ear!"

 

No, this is just a joke.

Nea, who was shaking her body, apologized with all her might, so she lowered her right arm, which she had brought to her ear.

Even if you don't have to be so scared... I wonder if I had a bad face ....... Well, let's get back to the story for now.

 

"I came up with a name, this gauntlet."

「...... Heh, heh."

 

I don't like Nea's reaction a bit, but that's okay.

After all, I thought that if it was going to be my own armor, I would need a name or something. I can't call him by his name Silver Gauntlet forever, so I tried to come up with a proper name.

Only for me.

A gauntlet that fits in the right hand.

As a result of combining these two factors, the name of the gauntlet was decided in my mind.

It's --

 

"Heel Gauntlet......!"

"Wow, that's it."

「......」

 

Is there a word that touches my heart more than this?

Even before the fight with Charon, I feel like I did the most damage of the day.

 

"I mean, it's just a gauntlet in itself, and you don't need a name, do you?"

"Whew."

 

I was told something reasonable, and I was at a loss for words.

As he didn't say anything back to Nea, he was listening to us, and Amako approached him with Bulllin.

Amako, you know how straightforward this name is.

 

"Heel Gauntlet is honest...... I don't think so."

 

I was shocked by Amako's words, and when I looked at Aluk, he smiled bitterly. From his reaction, I realized that the name of the gauntlet was subtle, and I shrugged my shoulders.

However, I looked up at the figure that appeared at the gate of the castle of Myalark.

What appeared was Leona, wearing the same armor as when they first met. Even though she has removed her helmet from her head, I notice that her straight eyes are staring intently at me.

 

「......」

 

Leona, who walked up to me with a serious expression on her face, stood in front of me and bowed vigorously.

I was stunned by her sudden action.

 

"What, Leona?"

"I've been thinking about it ever since, my resolve and your words."

 

Looking up, she pulls out a small bottle of spring water from the burlap sack attached to her armor, stares at it, and weaves her words.

 

"You didn't take this water away because you respected my resolution."

 

She doesn't have the slightest evil thoughts. There is a firm resolve.

Ignoring her resolve, I thought that I shouldn't take away the water.

...... However, this was a kind of complacency on my part.

 

"It's easy to use...... But it's harder than anything else to overcome the fear of losing and the fear of fighting. ...... I can't do it because I'm weak-minded. I'm sure it will break in the middle of the road. So—"

 

Leona's gaze turns to Aluk, Amako, Burlin, and Nea, and finally returns to me.

 

"I want you to fight with me, and I think it's cowardly for me to say that I've been hiding from you and making plans for myself. Still, I want to fight to protect this place."

 

Leona bowed her head more deeply than before.

You don't have to think about it, and you don't have to check with your colleagues.

 

"Let's fight, everyone, including you."

"Usato......!"

"And I told you, didn't I? You can count on me."

 

If you reach out, we're always there to help.

Leona decided to fight with us instead of alone.

All that's left is for us to join forces to fight Charon and win.

 

●

 

With Leona and everyone else ready, we walked out of the castle gate and out of the ice-covered Mialak.

Outside the city, which is covered by a Norn-like barrier, there is Charon, who is weak with his eyes closed as if he were dead. Perhaps, if he senses the slightest change in his surroundings, he will immediately wake up and prepare for battle.

...... The plan was decided when the Norns remade the barrier.

We hold back Charon-san who is about to attack the city when it is defenseless, and in the meantime, the Norns create a barrier between Charon and us.

This is the first stage of the operation.

The first challenge is to make it this far.

 

"Well, and."

 

Mindful of the bracelet attached to his right arm, he unfolds the gauntlet.

With a light clacking sound, the tip of the elbow is enveloped in silver. After checking the condition of my right arm, I ask him to cast a resistance spell on the nair above his shoulder.

 

"Nea, be resistant to cold air."

"Yes, I know."

 

From the top of my shoulders, my entire body is given resistance to cold.

This will negate the cold air emitted by Charon's axe.

 

"Usato, I think you know, but be careful not to hit me, because unlike you, I'm not sturdy."

"I know, I'm not going to let you hit me. At least until I let go of that axe that was giving me cold air."

 

I'll be the one to actively fight Charon-san.

It's pretty dangerous to take his attack head-on, but I haven't been playing for the past week.

Training to eliminate waste in movement.

It's simple, but it has made a big difference in my movements...... It should be.

 

――It looks like you're ready.

「......! This voice."

 

Falga's voice echoes in my head.

If you look around, it seems that people other than me can hear you.

 

I'm watching your battles. I can't reach outside the city, but I can make my voice heard.

- Charon is strong. From the point of view of the human species, its power is nothing short of non-standard. But that doesn't mean you're inferior.

 

Falga's words resonate heavily in my heart.

However, this time his voice seemed very reassuring.

 

Join forces, that is the strength of man.

If he could do that, he would be able to overthrow even Shenlong.

"Yes......!"

 

Respond powerfully to the voice that echoes in your head.

It is endorsed by Shenryu, who created the weapon of the hero. There's no reason why you can't do your best after being told so far!

 

- The Norns temporarily break the barrier.

 

In front of me, ripples float and flicker in the barrier that separated the city of Myarak from the outside world.

Perhaps sensing this, Mr. Charon, who had not moved until now, looked up vigorously and turned his sharp eyes to us.

 

"Usato"

 

Leona calls her name and turns to her.

 

"I'll tell you right now, no matter what the outcome, I'm still grateful to you. I'm here now, saved by your words."

「...... Don't tell me that it's not that auspicious for any outcome."

"Hehe, that's true, I was still a little bearish."

 

She smiled softly and put on the helmet she was holding at her side.

I also look forward and focus on Charon. The flickering boundary disappears as particles from above.

 

「......」

 

Miarak is a city without people.

Charon, a dragon man who threatens the city.

Farga-sama, a divine dragon who watches over people from deep underground.

And the calamity left by the evil dragon.

Come to think of it, the journey so far has involved an evil dragon.

From the time they fought in the village where Nea lives, the battle between the hero and the evil dragon caused the Curse of Samarian to be created. And this time, under the influence of the evil dragon, Charon was forced to awaken the dragon factor of the divine dragon Falga-sama and went out of control.

 

"We've got to settle ......."

 

Cut off the relationship with the evil dragon.

He also saves Charon and Miarak.

 

"Ahhh

 

As soon as the barrier disappears, Mr. Charon, who has raised his axe, jumps out at us with a shout.

I was the first to react to his movements, clenching my fists tightly and kicking the icy ground as he did.

The first stage of the operation, the ...... to create a place for him and us to fight!

To that end, what I do is...

 

"I'm going to hold you down!"

 

As I run on the icy ground, Charon, wielding an axe, releases a large icicle that he showed in the first fight.

The first time, it was an attack that I had no choice but to avoid. That hasn't changed, but now I'm not fighting alone.

The icicles that were about to hit me were melted by the fan-shaped flames that flew from behind and disappeared into water vapor.

 

"I'm the magic of ice!"

 

Alc, who deals with fire magic, can offset ice magic.

Convinced of this, I glared at Charon, who was ten steps away. He was already about to swing his axe, but I squeezed my right fist in response.

Charon's power, which is awakened as a dragon, is higher than mine. If I take it head-on, no matter how hard my gauntlet is, it will be crushed.

 

"Whew!"

"It's here!"

 

Stopping in my tracks, I firmly saw the swinging axe and flicked it diagonally with my fist on the side of the blade. The impact from the side slams his left fist into Charon's torso, which is wide open with his right arm, and he archs backwards.

I succeeded in delivering the first blow, and without looking away from him, I drew my left fist and took a stance to show my right fist to my opponent.

 

"Uu......! Uuuuu

 

Charon, glaring at me and growling angrily, attacks me again, but I still flick the axe back with a gauntlet and fight back with my left fist.

However, perhaps he has learned from the previous attack, and he stops at the last minute and hits you with an arm that does not have an axe.

 

"I can see that, too!"

 

I hesitated by clenching my fist into my left cheek and slammed my left fist into Charon's defenseless jaw.

The moment his body wobbles, he places his right hand with a gauntlet attached to his unprotected abdomen.

 

"Healing Magic Bursting Palm ......!"

 

An unpowered impact of magic emanates from his right palm, blowing Charon's body away this time.

As I watched him uncontrollably roll on the icy ground, a circular transparent barrier newly created by the Norn was created in a radius of 100 meters around me and the place where he was.

 

"Whew......, I'm going to make a place for you and us to fight. For the time being, the first phase of the operation has been cleared."

 

Now I don't have to worry about Charon escaping.

Besides, I was able to prove that I could fight against Charon.

This week's training was not in vain.

 

"I was scared! What a way to fight! You're there!"

"Whoa!?"

 

Nea, who had been silent until now, began to make noise in her ears.

Without taking his eyes off Charon, he calls out to her.

 

"No, you didn't hit it, did you?"

"I'm too scared that my fist will pass through the opposite space where I am!"

 

Sure, when I dodged the attack earlier, my fist passed through the left side of my face, but it was my right shoulder that Nea was in. I avoided her because I thought about her, but she didn't seem to like it.

...... If I could, I would have been able to pull the axe away from Charon in the previous battle, but I couldn't go that far. Even though he anticipated his moves and fought back, he was stronger. If you get greedy, you risk getting an irreparable blow.

As he watches Charon stand up slowly with his head in his hands, Aluk and Leona arrive from behind.

 

"Usato-dono, are you okay?"

"Yes, we manage to fight."

 

Now it's time for the real thing.

If I were alone now, I would have to repeat the previous battle endlessly, but with the support of Alc and Leona, the situation will tilt in this direction.

 

"Usato, as expected, his axe is emitting a ridiculous amount of cold air, and I guess Leona and Aluk can't get close."

"That'...... it."

"If you approach it without magic, you won't be able to move properly."

 

I hadn't noticed it due to the resistance spell, but it seemed that the axe was emitting more cold air than I had expected.

At the moment, I'm the only one who can get close to Charon.

 

"Aluk, Leona, it looks like we have no choice but to pull the axe away from Charon-san as planned."

"Sounds like it."

"It's so cold at this distance, it's impossible for my armor to keep it out."

 

...... It's time for Charon to make a move.

I took a step forward, stood in front of them, raised my fists, and called out to the two people behind me.

 

"Arc will use cold and ice magic to deal with him, Leona will limit Charon's movements, and I will pull away from his axe."

"Got it!"

"Leave it to me, and don't be rash either."

 

The voices of the two people who respond to my words.

Hearing his voice, I kicked the icy ground and jumped forward to attack Charon.

 

________________________________________

In this episode, it was Usato-kun who turned into a melee demon who parries large attacks with a gauntlet in a hurry.

 

Sorry for the late update.

I was late thinking about the battle description and writing about the good parts of Kiri.

As for the next story, I would like to update it by tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, if possible.